1,191 thoughts on “Deadpan is Lovely in the Fall”

      • I remember a comedian making a joke after the first Voyager mission was launched (I think Voyager). It was going to provide the first close images of Saturns rings and he predicted Scientist would discover the rings were made up of all the socks that disappeared in the drier.

    • I’m hearing that you do need Instagram to have a Threads page.

      Were I to get serious about a micro-blogging platform, it would probably be in the Mastodon/BlueSky family.

    • I have high hopes for Spoutable, but it is only available as a phone app currently. Otherwise I’ll see if any of the other alternatives get enough traction to be viable. But surely, I won’t be on X much longer.

  14. I’m quite enjoying Baldur’s Gate 3.
    The husband has them all naked when in camp. Made for some interesting screen shots when one character laid in top of another. What was not suppose to be overly sexual suddenly became so when they were both without clothes.

  19. Crap joke for the day:

    An 8-year-old girl went to her grandfather, who was working in the yard and asked him, “Grampa, what is couple sex?”
    The grandfather was surprised that she would ask such a question, but decided that if she’s old enough to ask the question, then she’s old enough to get a straight answer. Steeling himself to leave nothing out, he proceeded to tell her all about human reproduction and the joys and responsibilities of intercourse.
    When he finished explaining, the little girl was looking at him with her mouth hanging open, eyes wide in amazement. Seeing the look on her face, the grandfather asked her, “Why did you ask this question, honey?”
    The little girl replied, “Grandma says that dinner will be ready in just a couple secs.

  21. Finally,FINALLY, after reading about it back in 70s in an encyclopaedia of science fiction, I’ve started reading Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle.

    The English translation of course.

    • I don’t read enough “high fantasy” to be able to spar with this author on a one-to-one basis. But I really feel like this was an attempt to get a long winded article out of their one statement “Fantasy stories are typically set in the premodern periods, and gunpowder is heavily tied to the advent of modernity”. At least that was why I always assumed there were no guns for the good guys or the bad guys. There just are guns in sword and sorcery.

  26. Random nerdery report:

    While doing other stuff, I pressed play on “I Married a Monster From Space” on Kanopy, watched the first half on mute, but actually finished the whole movie.

    It’s everything its title advertises. Probably too good for MST3K to properly savage. If you have a tolerance/penchant for 1950s Sci-Fi schlock, then I highly recommend it.

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051756/

  27. Last night a piece in our bedroom toilet broke. I guess it’s off to Home Depot this morning to see what’s involved in fixing it

      • Doing some quick measurements using Google Maps, Sentry Box has a footprint of 9,450 SF and Madness 20,000 SF. Granted, Sentry Box is two stories, but at least 60 percent of the first floor is atrium space to the lower level. So if we add an additional 40 percent to 9,450 that would bring us to 13,230 SF. That would mean Madness does actually have more floor space. Funny enough, doing a quick web search brings up both Sentry Box and Madness as being in contention as the largest.

    • I bought Baldur’s Gate 3 over the weekend. It is pretty funny how you make the characters walk around nude without comment, or at least for the few hours I played. In Fallout 4, if you walked around in your undies your companion was likely to say something like, “do you feel cold?” followed by a laugh.

  30. So someone recommended “Year Zero” by Rob Reid. The premise is about how aliens love earth music, but are bound to comply with our anti-piracy laws, and so have decided to destroy the earth to get around that.

    Silly idea, of course, but it seemed like a slam dunk for me. It has its moments, but also a lot of weak. I’m not sure if I’m going to finish.

    • I saw an online article concerning purchasing BG3 or SF based on a single question. “Can you talk to squirrels?” BG3 Yes, SF No, so they recommended BG#.

      • I have the talk to animals trait. I try to have a conversation with every animal I meet. It’s actually gotten me out of more that one scrap, and I made friends with a baby owlbear

    • There was also a film with the same name in 1987 with Emily Lloyd as an up and coming star. Her mental health problems would later make her miss out on a lot of roles.

  35. Went to the post office today to send a parcel. Their computers were down so I couldn’t sent it. That’s the first time that’s happened. Will need to try again later this week.

  36. I hate going to the dentist. Not because of the dental part. I always feel like they are trying to upsell to me. I don’t have any cavities, but I guess I need to go back next week because an old filling needs to be replaced.

  37. Definitely enjoying Ahsoka, but holy crap it’s basically the next season of Rebels. To really get this, you have to have watched a good deal of the Clone Wars and Rebels shows, even more so than the movies.

  38. I’ve really enjoyed what BOOM! Studios has been putting out lately. “Blade Runner: Origins” was excellent, and I love “The Many Deaths of Laila Starr”. Imagine if Gaiman was Hindi and wrote a story about Death.

  42. Lots to do this morning.
    Why can’t the husband make his own damn appointments?
    I might try the post office again while I’m out and about.

  45. Crap joke for the day:

    A guy walks into a bookshop and says “I’m looking for a book by Shakespeare”
    The shop assistant asks “Which one?”
    The guy replies “William”

  50. Well that is season 2 of Foundation put to bed.

    Enjoyed it, the final episode was more a case of exposition over action, but fingers crossed it gets a S3.

      • I sometimes take too long, but I wouldn’t say I need a “Shower runner” (sorry, funny typo).

        I may have said this before, but I avoided those books as a youngster because my trusted reading crew all said they were boring AF. I’m semi-curious, but I doubt if I’ll ever get around to them. I might give the show a shot someday. I know it’s been generally well-liked.

        • We just started season 2 last night. Binged season 1 about a month ago. Was a bit surprised that S1 seemed to get bagged on pretty hard. I thought it was a pretty excellent adaption of Asimov’s concepts.

          The stories as written are pretty much unfilm able. The originals in particular started as a collection of short stories where the characters are pretty thin, but the big events that happen ever several decades are the driver of the story.

        • I read the first book in the 7th grade (?) and loved it. Seems like there was just enough action.
          The 2nd book lost me as it was (as I recall) a great deal of thoughtful actions and political maneuvering. As a young kid it lost me but I went back and read it a few years later and appreciated it.

  51. Bored. The husband is at the dentist. I’m in the waiting room as we have errands to run after. It’s been about 45 minutes so far. Got lots of reading done but am now ready to move on

  56. Modern English has a new single out,
    “Long in the Tooth”

    On first listen I quite like it. If the latest reincarnation of the band follows this path I think they could make a go of it.

  60. Currently doing Nick Cave binge. It’s good, but I feel like with artists like him, you kinda need to be listening to music and words. If it’s just background music, then you’re not getting the full effect.

  66. Arrr. Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day, y’all. Wore my pirate outfit to work again this year. About to listen to a presentation about how my company is involved in philanthropy.

  67. I’ve decided to push up my nerd glasses and not follow talk like a pirate day. Simply because, only Hollywood pirates said “arr” and, “Avast” and other such things. Real pirates spoke like everybody else in the world. So I guess you might say I talk like a pirate every day.

  70. Ugh. I hate Alberta. Hubby’s system is NOT in the SOGI program. However, I guess it was brought up at the last school council meeting whether it should look into it. That’s it. Not they should join, but they should look into if it’s right for them. Hubby texted today, 1/3 of his students are absent because of parent protest

    https://ab.sogieducation.org/

  71. Toured the little one’s school yesterday. Man, things have changed. In every class, the kids were able to sit wherever they want, able to get up when they want, able to just roam. And we watched a brief discussion in a class of 4th-graders where a bunch of kids and the teacher were fully engaged. I’d never seen anything like that outside of TV shows and movies – – I didn’t think it happened in the real world.

    • Yeah, it’s an interesting thing. My deep 20th century programming says, “You can’t do that, kids will just run wild and won’t listen!” – – and that’s probably true of some class situations, but this just seems like such a better way for kids to learn and go to school every day.

  88. There is a new rule in the European Union that passports can not have a start/expired period greater than ten years. Caught a few people out with passports that had been renewed before the rules changed and had more than 10 years on their passports.

  90. Crap joke for the day:

    Two young boys walked into a pharmacy one day, picked out a box of tampons and proceeded to the checkout counter.
    The pharmacist at the counter asked the older boy, ‘Son, how old are you?’
    ‘Eight’, the boy replied.
    The man continued, ‘Do you know what these are used for?’
    The boy replied, ‘Not exactly, but they aren’t for me. They’re for him. He’s my brother. He’s four.”
    “Oh, really?” the pharmacist replied with a grin.
    “Yes.” the boy said. “We saw on TV that if you use these, you would be able to swim, play tennis and ride a bike. Right now, he can’t do none of those.”

  94. The husband went to central office today so left the house a half our later this morning. It’s amazing how even a half hour can mess up my schedule.

  95. Played around with Google Earth VR yesterday morning. It might more aptly be called a Godzilla simulator because your perspective seems to always be from 300 feet up. So this is what Godzilla would see stomping around my neighborhood.

    • The danger is access.
      If people physically own media, they can watch anytime they want and they can share with others.
      In the rental days you might be a little at the mercy of the store’s hours and selection but there were often many options.
      With streaming, where less than a dozen outlets may be serving an entire country, when one corporate board or even just one guy makes the decision that they don’t want to carry something or maybe even want to get out of the business … that media evaporates with the flick of an off switch.

      • Exactly this. Also, no one makes a profit or collects data when you spin your DVD at home. Every time a piece of content is streamed, someone make money, and a bunch of database numbers get ticked and sold to advertisers.

        Sadly, I don’t think that people care quite enough about the obscure little gems to worry about them disappearing forever. But our current path could lead to a world where only s very limited set of movies are available for anyone to watch. OR – – only certain edits of movies are available for anyone to watch.

        Repeat the above statements for music and movies.

  115. I didn’t realize that David McCallum was Ducky on NCIS. It’s a show that Tiffany had binged so much, a few years ago, that I got to know the different characters. He was good.

  116. Just watched “They Cloned Tyrone”.

    Brilliant fun.
    Original story, which is great but the stylization is spot on. They’ve even given it the look of the grainy film stock they used in the 70’s.

    It’s on Netflix.

  118. Watched the first episode of The Continental last night. Although, being an hour and a half, it felt more like a movie.
    Two thoughts:
    1) It felt very much like a John Wick universe type movie
    2) I didn’t realize Mel Gibson was no longer persona non grata

  119. So spent three days trying to get an anti-viral prescription for my Covid infection to be told that I’m not ill enough.

    I love the NHS, but in this case it’s fucked up.

  120. I watched 10 Cloverfield Lane last night. I’d never seen it before. Much better than I expected.

    And for JJ haters, it seems that he’s only the producer.

  125. Well this is the second time I have bought a concert ticket and plane ticket to go and see Aerosmith, only to have Steven Tyler’s health put a stop to it.
    This time they are saying he “Broke his larynx” and needs surgery.

    I fear this is a bucket list item I waited just too long for.

  127. Watching the start of Das Boot (just testing to see if the video file works) and being reminded of watching the tv series with my Dad back in the day and him laughing at the drunk U-boat crew pissing all over the car the Captain is driving.

  128. So I’m enjoying season 2 of The Wheel of Time, never read the books and don’t intend to read them now so the tv series will have to do.

    • As one who did read all the books (though, as I was accused of back in the 90’s on Usenet when I had a complaint about how many characters there were to keep up with: “I just need to take better notes”)…

      Anyway, I thought the first season was OK. The second season is much stronger. Much like Foundation, I think what Amazon is doing with the Wheel of Time is telling the essential story in about the only way such a sprawling thing can possibly be brought to a video medium.

  130. Halfway through Daisy Jones and the Six now. It’s a good enough show, but man is it taking its time. And man, the band’s early signature song sounds more like the Gin Blossoms than anything from the 70s. And man, are the 2 focal characters extremely unlikable.

  131. So Harry Turtledove on Twitter has stated that the author Michael F Flynn has died.

    Only read short stories by him and not many at that.

  134. And we did an unexpected visit at Chuck Tomasi’s house, aka the place formerly known as Draco Vista. Saw Cj and her kids! It was a good time.

  135. Crap joke for the day:

    A man walks into a bar. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a little man, maybe a foot tall and a little piano. He puts them both on the bar, and the little guy starts playing Mozart as the man orders his drink.
    The bartender says “I’m sure it’s none of my business, but where did you find a little man who plays piano like that?”
    The guy says “There’s a genie outside granting wishes, I bet he’s still there if you hurry.”
    The bartender runs outside, and moments later a bunch of ducks come in through the front door and start causing a big ruckus. The bartender says “You didn’t tell me the genie was deaf, I asked for a million bucks, not a million ducks.”
    The guy says
    Do you really think I asked for an eleven inch pianist?”

    • Yeah, and people can be stupid. Once, when I was up there with convention guests, a bear was on the side of the road. A number of people were stopped to pictures. While we didn’t get out of our car, there was one couple who were out with their kids, they kept encouraging the kids to get closer to the bear so they could get a good picture.
      Like I said, stupid

  145. I hear there was supposed to be a 5G zombie apocalypse today. But nothings happening here. You guys didn’t have a zombie apocalypse without me did you?

  150. First concert in awhile tonight! Geoff Tate. Weird show. He doesn’t sound like he used to, but it was still pretty good.

    I met him a few years ago, and he was a dick, but whatever, I was there tonight for the music.

  157. Is anybody here Busy Monkey01 on Epic Games? I got a friend request and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t anybody I know before I refuse.
    I’m rarely on Epic except to see what the weekly free game is.

  158. So S1 of Loki rewatched, I disagree with Jack on this, I don’t think the series got worse as it went along. I mean yes it’s a setup to introduce Kang but the whole ride to the finale was a fun one. Plus the introduction of Sylvie was a good choice.

    Roll on S2.

    • Fight me!

      Actually, my main complaint was the weak the final episode. That speech felt like it went on for 25 minutes.

      And so far, Kang has been kind of a bust, on and off screen.

  159. Well, Wheel of Time finished strong with season 2. I’m sure there will be plenty of haters complaining about some variation from the books that I don’t remember, but I thought this season was pretty solid.

    So now with WOT, Ahsoka, and Only Murders in the Building all wrapping their excellent seasons this week, I guess we’ll be getting back to Loki and I’m not sure what all else yet.

  160. OK, so yes, the action scenes were always fun. Even when the characters were surrounded by dozens of stormtroopers at point blank range, but still coming away unscathed.
    Lots of thrilling moments, but plot-wise and character-wise, this season was a mess. So much relied on characters – one in particular – to do dumb stuff to move the story forward.
    And my last complaint, we didn’t get any real backstory on Ahsoka. Or the old Sith dude (what is the deal with him, anyway?). Or Thrawn. Or anyone.

    /end griping.

    I did enjoy the season.
    I’ll be back for season 2.
    But this isn’t peak Star Wars. It’s nowhere near as good as Mandalorian S1 and S2 or Andor.

      • Thank you, sir! Of those, I think you might get a kick out of the Bloody Kisses album. Minus the one dated “edgy” song.
        “Black No. 1” is a Halloween favorite. We play the single edit around little ears.

  166. Had an interesting thin happen in Baldur’s Gate 3. Astarion and I are partnered in romance. I just had another character basically ask for a threesome with him, Astarion, and myself. Didn’t expect that.
    (Side note: Astarion didn’t want to participate but fully endorsed my sleeping with this other character without him.)

  177. Finished Baldur’s Gate 3. Put in nearly 100 hours. Without spoilers, while I quite enjoyed the game over all, I was a little disappointed with the story arc of my secondary/protector character.
    Those that are playing BG3, let me know if you felt the same when you finish the game.

  178. I’ve only been able to play about 4 hours. Overall I’ve found it to be a groundbreaking game in terms of player interaction and the variety of actions one can perform. One quibble is I’m not a fan of how the opening quests are all a dramatic version of Sophie’s Choice. I wish they’d given new players some room to learn the game and enjoy the visuals before they accidentally sacrifice someone’s kid.

  180. Hey Jack, sent you a couple of emails this morning. Since Shaw doesn’t seem to be playing nice with others all the time – just ask Ed – I thought I’d give you a heads up here. I’m blaming Rogers. I’ve noticed a few other issues since they took over Shaw earlier this year.

  181. I found the adaptation by William Friedkin (his last film)of The Caine Mutiny an engrossing court room drama. It’s on Showtime.

    I’m now tempted to go and look for the 1954 film with Humphrey Bogart.

    • Michael Caine has said that he saw half of that film title on a theater marquee, and that’s how he chose his stage name. He’s joked that if he were standing a bit to the right, he’d have been Michael Mutiny.

  182. Crap joke for the day:

    Fred and Mary got married.
    But they can’t afford a honeymoon, so they go back to Fred’s parent’s home for their first night together. In the morning, Johnny, Fred’s little brother, gets up and has his breakfast.
    As he is going out of the door to go to school, he asks his mom if Fred and Mary are up yet.
    She replies, “No”.
    Johnny asks, “Do you know what I think?”
    His mom replies, “I don’t want to hear what you think! Just go to school.”
    Johnny comes home for lunch and asks his mom, “Are Fred and Mary up yet?”
    She replies, “No.”
    Johnny says, “Do you know what I think?”
    His mom replies, “Never mind what you think! Eat your lunch and go back to school.”
    After school, Johnny comes home and asks again, “Are Fred and Mary up yet?”
    His mom says “No.”
    He asks, “Do you know what I think?”
    His mom replies, “Ok, ok, tell me what you think!!!”
    He says: “Last night Fred came to my room for the Vaseline and I think I gave him my airplane glue.”

  184. Here’s how to make a goo or slime recipe using liquid laundry detergent instead of borax.

    Fill a measuring cup with 1/2 cup of water and pour it into your mixing bowl.
    Mix in 1/2 cup of glue. (Add more or less depending on the consistency you want.)
    Squeeze a few drops of food coloring into the mixture.
    Add glitter or other mix-ins if you wish.
    Stir in about 1/4 cup of liquid laundry detergent.
    Stir until the slime starts to form a gooey texture.
    Stir in more laundry detergent until it’s slimy enough for you.
    Knead the slime with both hands until it’s firm.
    Store your slime in an airtight plastic bag, reusable plastic container or glass jar.

    • I liked Totally Killer, but I it was a bit harsh on it’s take of the 80s. Seems like the writer thinks the 80s was nothing but over the top racism and misogyny. Then I watched Roller Boogie with it’s downright aggressive hitting on women and I get where they might think that.

  192. Decided to rewatch Moon Knight, it’s gets a lot of hate on Twitter but I rather enjoyed it.

    That first scene though, with the broken glass in the shoes, cringe!

  194. Morning Pan
    I think I’m catching something. I’ve been… off for the last couple of days.
    I blame the husband for working in a germ factory.

  198. Double dose of gaming this week. Going to play Parks with a friend virtually on Saturday. Then it’s Tyrants of the Underdark, live and in person on Sunday.

  200. So dug out my old iPhone 7 to use next week as I’m been advised not to take anything valuable with me.

    It’s a weird experience, chugs in places I didn’t remember it chugged. Screen is still nice though.

    • Wow. I haven’t read 6502 code in ages, and that is the most incredibly documented code I’ve ever seen. It will take me a while to dig through this.

      Thanks for sharing.

  207. We did watch the eclipse this morning. Hooray cool movements of celestial objects! There were some viewing parties across town, but we just watched from the backyard.

    • Yeah, we watched from my parents backyard. At first, it was looking like a disaster as, despite the promise of clear skies today, the whole area was covered when we first arrived.

      Thankfully, it started breaking as the eclipse got under way and by the time of “ring of fire” we had a clear view.

      Most spectactular.

    • So this is the era where a celebrity dies and everyone comes out to tell you what a POS they were.

      To be clear, some awfully moronic, tone-deaf Suzanne Somers quotes are being aired, but nothing to make me say “good riddance.” FFS.

      RIP.

  210. Many moons ago at one of the meet-ups Ed recommended Anker battery packs, I bought one soon after.

    I’m still using it and it’s charging my iPhone as I type.

  213. Crap joke for the day:

    A little boy and his grandfather are raking leaves in the yard.
    The little boy sees an earthworm trying to get back into its hole.
    He says, “Grandpa, I bet I can put that worm back in that hole.” The grandfather replies, “I’ll bet you five dollars you can’t.
    It’s too wiggly and limp to put back in that little hole.”
    The little boy runs into the house and comes back out with a can of hair spray.
    He sprays the worm until it is straight and stiff as a board.
    The boy then proceeds to put the worm back into the hole.
    The grandfather hands the little boy five dollars, grabs the hair spray and runs into the house.
    Thirty minutes later the grandfather comes back out and hands the boy another five dollars.
    The little boy says, “Grandpa, you already gave me five dollars.” The grandfather replies, “I know. That’s from your Grandma.”

    • It is really good, although I’d ding it a star for a lot of manufactured drama. “a mentally disturbed young man has an affair with his supervisor’s wife, then reveals the affair while during a mission crisis.” Basically, “Dallas” in space. But the acting, dialogue, and cinematography are top-notch. Best? Not really, but I will watch all of season 4 when it comes out.

  223. I think I’d rank the Live-Action Star Wars TV shows as:

    Andor
    .
    .
    .
    Mandalorian (minus that terrible last season)
    Ahsoka
    Obi-Wan Kenobi
    Book of Boba Fett

      • I’ve also basically liked them all, but also been disappointed with all (except Andor), to varying degrees.

        I swear to never be the guy telling you why you shouldn’t like something.

    • I would rank them as

      Mandalorian (including that terrible last season)

      Andor
      Obi-Wan Kenobi
      Ahsoka
      Book of Boba Fett

      I found things to like in all of them and things I didn’t care for as well. But I’m happy they all exist.

  228. For posting on here, Google Chrome on iOS is superior to Safari on my phone. It remembers my alias and email address so I don’t have to retype them and it crashes less often.

    Which is nice.

  229. So on Facebook I keep seeing ads for this computerised chess board called Chess Up, which looks tempting to have but I’ve seen mixed reviews how well it actually works.

  234. Last night we Started watching the mini series, “The Fall of the House of Usher” on Netflix.

    It is an entertaining, “malevolent ghost” story.
    Sort of this year’s “American Horror Story”.
    Better than some. Not as good as others. (Shrug)

    Heads up though…
    Lots of gratuitous, creepy sexual content and wealthy people behaving badly.

  242. It’s suppose to snow a ridiculous amount tomorrow. My snow tires are booked to go on Tuesday for me, Wednesday for the husband. The weather couldn’t wait three more days?

      • I wasn’t complaining, I was making an observation. It usually snows before Halloween. Actually, the snow doesn’t bother me, it’s the cold that usually goes along with it.

  250. Crap joke for the day:

    I got a job making plastic Draculas.

    But there are only two of us working there.

    So I have to make every second count..

  258. Just finished the Audible original “Third Eye” by Felicia Day. It is exactly the sense of humor you would expect from Felicia Day. Good stuff. Fun and entertaining without being to weighted down with heavy issues. Only thing that threw me off was that Sean Astin was voicing a character that, to me, sounded exactly like Patton Oswalt (who I was surprised was not in the cast).

  259. Also, and in addition, as well as, MST3K is doing another round of funding for a Season 14. I did the all-digital package this time as none of the physical add ons were anything that leapt out at me. They seemed to get a lot more out of me last time. Only other digital add ons this time were either something I wasn’t interested in (name listed in credits) or something that was priced out of my range ($1000-$5000 workshops). I just did the $85 digital level and called it a day.

    https://showmaker.mst3k.com/makeseason14

    • I’m torn on this one. Rush has always been my favorite band and I would relish seeing more Geddy Lee. But I don’t really follow any of those other bands or bass players. So do I really want to see Geddy having conversations and canning tomatoes with people that I don’t know or care about?

  264. A movie made by the Coen Brothers AND Sam Raimi, with Brion James, Bruce Campbell, Paul Smith, and a bunch of other fun actors – – how have I never seen this?

    Well, I watched the first 30 minutes on Kanopy, and now I understand why. YMMV, but I don’t think I’ll go back and finish Crimewave.

    • I saw that movie! I thought it was good mindless fun. I have a soft spot for super silly humor. I even liked the crappy Leslie Nielson fake-airplane-style stuff like 2001: A Space Travesty, Wrongfully Accused, and Repossessed.

  266. After finishing House of Usher thought I would try to watch The Haunting of Bly Manor as I had only watched the first episode. Rewatching the first episode the most horrific things are not the ghosts or the creepy children or the dodgy accents. It’s how Ms Clayton makes tea and having bangers and mash without gravy.

    • 😀

      I’m seeing a wide range of opinions about Fall of the House of Usher. We just finished Daisy Jones and the Six, so I think that one is up next for us. With expectations low.

      • It is worth a watch. I didn’t find it especially scary, some people really liked it though. For scary, the “No One Will Save You” on Hulu is great, of course it has mixed reviews as well. LOL

    • I’m actually looking forward to the BBC also dropping a load of classic Doctor Who on its iPlayer service. Will be nice to watch The Pyramid of Mars again, in fact most of the Tom Baker era is worth a rewatch.

    • “The duo will come up against The Toymaker, with Neil Patrick Harris playing the villain – who last appeared in the series back in 1966.”

      Was Neil Patrick Harris even alive in 1966?

  268. So I’m enjoying the tv adaption of Lessons in Chemistry on AppleTV+

    No idea how faithful it is to the book, but Brie Larson is great in this.

    • I thought he died years ago. :-/

      He was the top-billed actor in The Dungeon Master, which is the worst movie I ever saw in the theater. He was one of a kind. RIP

  272. I never found Friends to be funny. I always suspected that it was really just the inhuman attractiveness of the 6 leads that made it so popular.
    Chandler actually seemed like he could have been funny on a funnier show. Matthew Perry seemed like a troubled but decent guy. Definitely a tragic loss. RIP.

  276. Well I’ve got the nod from a medical professional that I can start walking and going outside.

    So, so far, things are looking good.

  282. We watched Sister Death on Netflix on Saturday, it wasn’t bad. However, we did go in with low expectations so were pleasantly surprised

  287. I started reading Nothing Lasts Forever. Appently it’s the book Die Hard is based on. I’m only 15% in but, so far, it’s a terrible book. Not sure how someone picked this up and said hey, I’ve got to make a movie out of it. Or even how they made a decent movie out of it. Hopefully it gets better.

  288. Deadair.co

    Starts their live radio stream any moment now.
    Think, “Dr Demento Halloween” show

    In case you have nothing better to do

  289. I do love a guide your character left through scrolling landscape game.

    So been playing Far: Changing Tides via PS Plus (extra) on my PS5 and it’s rather good without being creepy like Limbo and Inside.

  292. We only had maybe 1/4 the kids this year over last. Not sure what the difference was. (don’t say it was a Tuesday as it was Monday last year so the difference would be negligible).

  295. We had two different families with kids come by.
    I was a little surprised because it had suddenly dropped to nearly freezing out AND there was a BIG “trunk or treat” presence this last weekend. So I really doubted we would have any.
    Still, the reaction to my decorating from the little kids who did come by was heartening. 🙂

  296. Trick or Treating last night was a success, even if our little Ariel’s fish tail made her walk like Morticia Addams.

    We had a good variety of trick or treaters at home too. I kept my inner judginess to myself when the family rolled up in golf cart. (Maybe there was a legit need for it. Who knows).

    • Our neighborhood has a lot of landscapers that live here. So we get 10-20 kids at a time all being hauled around on landscaping trailers. And we get tons of golf carts and people just walking around. It’s still a hopping thing in my neighborhood and that makes me happy. We also get a good number of families telling us they have to drive past our house every day because our decorations are their kids’ favorites.

    • You did your part.
      You showed up.
      The times I have been called up (but never picked for a jury) they explain that but just having potential jurors there… the vast majority of cases suddenly settle.

      • A friend was called and sat on a case where a bus driver was on trial for causing deaths in an accident. I knew the driver and had to keep my mouth shut. The driver got off thankfully.

  298. Crap joke for the day:

    A group of young children were sitting in a circle with their teacher. She was going around in turn asking them questions about animal sounds.
    “Davy, what noise does a cow make?”
    “It goes moo. ”
    “Alice, what noise does a cat make? ”
    It goes meow.”
    “Jamie, what sound does a lamb make?
    “It goes baaa.”
    “Jenny, what sound does a mouse make? ”
    “It goes click! “

  299. I’m fascinated by bands like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmZo97vk_sk

    Nekromantix are a pyschobilly band that have been kicking around forever, have never gone anywhere, couldn’t possibly have ever made any real money from their music, only ever played tiny venues, but they have their own unique schtick, right down to the coffin shaped upright bass. They seem like a fun little band. I only just discovered them tonight, but I’d have owned their CDs if I’d found them 20+ years ago.

  300. Was watching an old episode of Top Gear last night and discovered that British people apparently salute magpies to ward off bad luck. We don’t get magpies on the east coast of the US so I won’t even get the chance to play along.

    • One of my sisters always counts them and gets worried if she only sees one, due to this old nursery rhyme:

      One for sorrow,

      Two for joy,

      Three for a girl,

      Four for a boy,

      Five for silver,

      Six for gold,

      Seven for a secret,

      Never to be told.

      Magpie, magpie, why do you sigh?

      I sit so alone as the world goes by.

      Eight for a wish,

      Nine for a kiss,

      Ten for a bird,

      You must not miss.

  304. Just made it through my Covid vaccine hangover.

    Not nearly as bad this time around and didn’t hit me until about 20 hours after the jab.
    Still made for a long, achy day but now I should be braced for Thanksgiving travel to come.

    • NOT getting into a political discourse but this seems more provincial than federal (support systems allocated by provinces)

  309. Miss Tegan has another lump which, next week, she will get removed and checked like last time.
    The vet admitted, since it’s quite small (smaller than the last one) normally he’d say leave it for a month or so and keep an eye on it but, since it’s her second lump this year, it should be removed. The previous one was cancerous but non-aggressive. If this one is cancerous too, discussions may need to be had. She’s eating ok, and acting fine so we’re all hoping it’s nothing to worry about but… we worry.

  311. A few months back, I started posting my music Playlists to Facebook. It’s been a fun way to think about what I’m listening to, and to connect with fellow music listeners and the artists themselves. There have been some good conversations, and people have given me some good suggestions through it.

    Recently, I’ve begun seen some others in my friends list, including authors/music people I don’t really know listing their own playlists, which is kinda cool. It could be coincidence or unrelated, but I’m going to take credit.

  313. Loki is still bringing the weird. Two weeks in a row now, he’s said “This will all make sense, I promise,” but I don’t know if I believe him.

    The episodes without Kang and Ms. Minutes are so much better. Not a great sign if they’re hanging this entire phase on Kang as the big bad.

    I’m hoping against hope that this will have a satisfying ending, and not just a setup for the next thing.

  316. Finally watched The Fall of the House of Usher. We really enjoyed it. It wasn’t in any way scary (not to me, at least), but was well done.

      • You and the husband both. Me, not so much. I kept laughing at him each time he jumped. Luckily for him, there weren’t many of them

      • I really enjoyed the “conversation” scenes in the old house. I thought the writing/camera work/acting in them, really drew me in. Along with their accompanying “ hallucinations”, I found those bits to be spooky.

        • We’re a few eps in. A few of the jump scares got us.

          So far, so good. I saw a lot of hate for this on FB, but I suspect it’s from people attempting to signal how cultured they are.

  319. JW: Suitable Flesh

    If you are in the mood for a cheesy but fun Lovecraft adaption then you can’t go wrong with this.

    It feels like an extended 80s twilight zone episode.

    • That’s a pretty inclusive list of films.
      I think I have watched a large percentage of them and have interest I. The ones I haven’t. Many I could (and do) watch again.
      I extra appreciate how much comedy he has in there. That may be the mark of a well balanced human.

  331. From the dept of how things work.

    I listen to a podcast called “The Bottom Forty podcast“ which features older groups or new music by older groups 70s 80s maybe 90s alternative… Just “different“ music.
    They were hosted by a company called “anchor” which was recently bought by Spotify. Then Spotify which provided no monitory support to the podcast, notified them that they could now only play songs from artists in the Spotify library. Which would totally undo the Podcast’s entire thing.
    So they are in flux now as. I listen to them thru Tune-in.
    Corporate seems to eventually eat everything.

    • I did a few months of The Bottom Forty podcast, but then started noticing that even though it is “non-denominational” in genre, the host does like a really specific sound and many of the songs started sounding quite the same to me. I’ll still listen, though I think less often.

  332. So finally finished watching all the episodes of The Haunting of Bly Manor. Apart from the terrible accents from some of the North American cast, not too shabby at all.

    • I have an Apple Watch Series 6 (Released in 2020). The big thing for me with this version is the “always on” feature so that I don’t have to exaggeratedly throw my arm up into my face to get it to turn on when I want to see the time. I use it for tracking exercise when I do things like an elliptical and for quick reference to texts, weather, etc. I do not use it to control music or anything. If you have an iPhone and try to pair it with anything but an Apple Watch, it will become a hassle. I’ve tried before and been quite unpleased with the results. I’m sure it’s intentional and Apple being evil, but meh. I deal with it.

      • So here is her report:
        she has a series 8 and doesn’t leave it “always on” because of battery issues.

        Has it paired To her iPhone (latest) and AirPods. Message, calls, Spotify, sleep tracking are her big things.
        She really enjoys using it to listen to podcasts because she can use it to skip forward and back.

        Her biggest negative is that more apps don’t work on it.

    • I have one and I like it. The most used function is it vibrates when I get a text, so I can give a timely response. I like the variety of watch faces. Unless you are an iTunes user, getting the music up and working is a bit of a pain, but not impossible. It keeps trying and failing to automatically update the watch software, I need to do it manually but haven’t found the time.

      • I have had similar challenges with the watch updates. For a while it wasn’t providing me with the option to “install now” and then would fail at night. It finally let me install manually and that seems to work.

  335. After the latest medical news I feel the Grim Reaper is laying out the domino’s getting ready to flip the first one over to start the process.

    Even if they get things under control it’s going ramp up my travel insurance.

  336. So here is the latest from our tax accountant –
    The chaos at the IRS continues.
    After trying for weeks to get someone on the phone our accountant gets someone who tells her there is no sign of her last fax (from JULY) so she needs to fax it again. When someone finally looks at it they will contacts her. However, after she sends the fax you have to wait 30 days before you can call to see if they even got the fax.
    Of course that starts the process of trying to get a random human to call her back and then the whole process repeats.
    This has been going on for over a year now.

    Our tax person (a professional with decades of experience) says THIS is a direct result of the Political attacks on the IRS.
    They’ve had a huge departure of experienced agents (she used to have a named contact she could call directly to sort things out) and with funding to hire new people slashed and continuing to be under attack. It has thrown the agency into chaos. Of course that has not stopped the fact that tax payers still have to use it.

  337. Has anyone else been watching Scavenger Reign?

    Pros: The visuals are stunning, and the creativity behind the world is off-the charts-. That’s what keeps me going back.

    Cons: The humans. Their actions are so unbelievably careless and nonchalant around all of this dangerous, unknown fauna and wildlife on this alien world. I cringe every time someone does something stupid, which is often.

  339. I watched the first episode of Fall of the House of Usher last night. Does this ever come anything like close to seeming like it might have anything to do with horror or Edgar Allen Poe stories? Or does it just continue to be a drama about rich douchebags?

    Snarky BS aside. I’ve found that in the world of not creating original content, there seems to be layers that content creators can work within. The ugliest is reboot/reinvision/reimagine. But there is also what I like to call “playing on someone else’s playground” such as the 2019 Watchmen series. This is where content creators use an existing property, but try to carve out a side nitch for themselves so that they can do whatever the hell they want and not have to listen to fans saying that they are getting the cannon wrong. Fall of the House of Usher seems more like it actually fits into the playing on someone else’s playground genre more than like it’s any actual adaptation of the actual story. They are cramming it with Poe-ish references like the names Fortunato, Prospero, and the Goldbug program. But the plot doesn’t really have much to do with the story as of yet.

    • Without being too spoilery…
      This turns out to be more like an homage to Poe then a retelling of any of his stories.
      Sort of in the same way that “Oh Brother Where art Though” was to “The Odyssey”.

      It’s going to take at least another episode before they really show what they are doing with the material. I suppose what is meant to be part of its fun is to keep a sharp eye out for all of the Poe references. Some are blatant others not as much.
      Since that is kind of it’s schtick, I’m not sure what you do if you aren’t familiar with Poe’s work.

      • I just enjoyed it for what it was, there have been many literal Poe (or almost literal like The Simpsons) adaptions that I found this was a refreshing take.

    • There are many true Horror genre elements to TFotHoU, but yeah, don’t go looking for a true Poe adaptation. This is 100% “inspired by,” even more so than Flanagan’s other Netflix series.

      We’re not quite done with the series yet, but so far, many of the Poe nods have been clever.

      I also need to point out that Bruce Greenwood is really good in this – – but then, – – he’s always really good. Dude needs more awards.

  340. I have to give it to Apple, changing over to a new iPhone is a fairly painless affair.

    I’ve been saying that since the iPhone X though.

    Ticket booked to see The Marvels this week.

  341. Crap joke for the day:

    A Man walks into a pet shop and sees a parrot for only £50. Standing next to the cage the man asks, “I wonder why he is so cheap?”
    “Because I am defective,” came the reply. “I’ve got no legs.”
    A little surprised the man asked, “Well how do you stay on your perch?”
    The parrot draws him closer and whispers, “I have a big penis. I just wrap it around the bar and stay put. Go offer the owner 30 bucks for me. He’ll take it.”
    The man walks out of the store with the parrot and takes him home. They become best of friends. They talk sports, politics, current events. The man could not be happier.
    One day the man gets home from works and the parrot beckons him over with his wing…”Psst…come here. I need to talk to you.”
    “What?”
    “It’s about your wife.”
    “Yeah, what about her?”
    “And the postman. Today he knocked and she answered the door in a skimpy black negligee.”
    “What!”
    “Yes. And then they embraced in a long passionate kiss,” the parrot went on.
    “Holy shit…that can’t be possible.”
    “It is. Then they went over to the couch and she slipped him out of his uniform and then things started to get really steamy.”
    “Well,” the man asks,”what happened next?”
    “I don’t know,” said the parrot. “I fell off my perch.”

      • I should have tagged Rush. Maybe I’ll add an addendum.

        I think they have some so-so albums (Presto) — or good but lesser known albums (the last few) — that break their streaks.

        Thanks!

        • You rock! Thanks. I counted 12 because I feel like Presto is where the streak breaks as well. I did like Counterparts. But it seems like so many Rush fans have a cutoff point where they stop liking everything. For me it’s Presto. For my Brother it’s way way back at Moving Pictures. And I have some friends that just like the whole kit and kaboodle. Crazy how varied it all is.

    • I enjoyed this one.
      Was thinking about non metal bands I like and they don’t get to 6 much less 6 in a row.
      Top Petty, Van Hallen, Elton John, Pink Floyd
      Even my favorite, TMBG didn’t have 6 in a row and they’ve put out like a zillion albums.

          • Kiss is one of those bands that I just never got into while growing up. Their radio hits were all great. But I somehow never found myself motivated to get and listen to one of their albums.

      • TMBG might be 6 for me. Tom Petty, Van Hallen, and Elton John can be very hit or miss for me. I had recommended Pink Floyd on the Facebook post. But looking at the discography, it really is 5 in a row for them. They have a fluke here and there that breaks up the pattern. ELO is 8 in a row for me (although I actually like Xanadu, I wouldn’t call it an all-time classic). I had been thinking Jethro Tull, but Thick as a Brick and Passion Play break up that streak into a run of 5 and then 4. Allan Parsons Project is a solid 8 for me.

  347. Enjoyed The Marvels, there is only one post credit scene.

    Like a lot of MCU films the villain is not too impressive which lets the side down somewhat.

  349. Enjoyed the Loki s2 finale too. Mind-warping, but good, like a good Doctor Who episode.

    I’m not sure what it means for some of the characters going forward, if anything. It’ll be interesting to see.

  354. Took the youngest to the oldskool arcade again (we won a free pass last time).

    She is terrible at Burgertime, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Frogger, Paperboy, Space Invaders. pinball, and more – – but we had a great time.

    • I wonder if it’s the reverse problem that I have. I grew up on scrolling games like these and have a hard time with first person shooters.

      • I was great at the original Doom and Wolfenstein games on the PC, but I couldn’t hang with Half-Life, Halo, etc. I’ve actually never even played Golden-Eye.

        • Although I was brought up on scrolling and flick screen games I still love the Half Life series (including both Portal games) and Halo.

          Now I’ve regressed back to mostly playing 2D(ish) games.

  356. I loaded up Burgertime on my Miyoo Mini, had forgotten how shitty the control scheme is, you have to be very precise with pressing up or down near the ladders which means you can get caught by the food as you wonder why the Chef is not moving up or down the ladder.

        • There was a Q*Bert clone on the Spectrum called Pogo. The default keyboard layout was diagonal using the keys on the corners of the keyboard, made playing the game easy and when your character did die it was your fault not the controls.

    • My first console was Intellivision with the stupid disc controller. Burgertime was even harder with that thing. Still loved it. Just wasn’t verry good at it. Nightstalker though. I played that game forever at at time and got pretty damn good. I played Maze-A-Tron just about as much but that game was unmasterable.

  360. A musing from another place:

    So in movies, in my experience mainly US ones, the family sit down to all food being in separate bowls and empty plates. They pass the bowls around and fill their plates.

    I have never had a meal in my home or someone else’s home like that.

  361. Currently on a west coast tour.
    So far – Sacramento, then Salt Lake City, Zion National park, Bryce Canyon yesterday. Today finds me in Page with a day of “slot canyon” touring.
    Tomorrow it is on to Moab.

    No sleep til Brooklyn

      • Just two nights ago we were discussing over dinner, “How long before you can ask AI for code to build a program?”
        And maybe more importantly, “Who will OWN that code?”

        I mean, no one ever reads the fine print on the user agreements. What if you build a hardware system that works on this AI code and 6 months later you get a not from the AI owner that says you have to pay a monthly fee to continue to use that code or it will shut down…”as per the user agreement”.
        Besides the whole issue of yet another respected(?) profession getting “aged out” is the real danger of handing control over to who ever controls the AI. I mean what else is embedded in that code?
        As he wrote in the article – “at one point, I had to read a few lines of code myself to understand what it was doing”.

        If you can’t read code, would you be able to pick out routines that were monitoring it’s use and reporting them to someone else? Probably not.

        It’s a changing world to be sure.

  376. Crap joke for the day:

    Man is sitting in a bar staring at a shot glass, while a bartender cleans the table.

    Suddenly a biker sits next to the man, grabs the shot and drinks it in one gulp before slamming the glass back in front of the man.
    ‘What are you going to do about that?
    The man stares the glass for a second before bursting in hysterical sobs. Both the bartender and the biker stare at the man in surprise.
    The bartender quickly tries to calm the crying man. “Hey, I can get you a new drink if it meant so much for you.”

    The man looks at the bartender, with tear filled eyes and turns to the biker before speaking.

    ‘Nothing , I’ve just had a horrible week. Monday i got fired from my job, Tuesday my wife left me for this rich douchebag, Wednesday my parents died in a car crash. Thursday my dog drowned. To crown it all, today my home burns down with everything I own.” He lets out a small sob before continuing. “And now that I was finally determined to end it all, and put poison in that drink, before i could take it, you snatched it out of my hand.
    But that’s enough about me , how are you doing?

  382. Watched Doctor Sleep. (Minor spoilers ahead). It was more of a grim superhero movie than a horror movie, which is weird for a sequel to The Shining. The nods to the original were well done, although some were kinda forced.

    There was one really disturbing scene involving child torture and murder. I’m not saying what should or shouldn’t be done in art, but I’m really turned away by that stuff. I know that Danny has it rough in the original, but it’s not shown as graphically as this one part in the sequel. Even the It movie handles this horrific stuff better, IMHO.

    I don’t think I’ll ever rewatch.

    Gotta say, though: Rebecca Ferguson is a delight.

  385. The stars have aligned and a group of us are going to be in town at the same time so the husband is putting together a D & D one shot for Dec 10. As we are putting together characters and he is starting set up, he asked why I always seem to be the trouble maker of the group.
    Duh. it’s more fun that way.
    He did, however, make me promise not to start a tavern brawl at the very start of the campaign. I told him I wouldn’t deliberately look for a fight but, if something happens to set me off, that would be more on him 😉

      • This is my character

        Rieta Reverence, a 5th level Tiefling Wizard:

        Rieta’s guiding principle is, ‘I help others based on their necessities and advocate for compassion above all.’ Rieta places a high value on knowledge, frequently referencing renowned experts (i.e. name-dropping) across diverse domains. Alongside her intellectual pursuits, she harbors a fondness for lively tavern brawls, to the extent that she authored a notorious yet widely recognized book titled ‘The Advantages of a Spirited Tavern Brawl.’ Rieta is also recognized for her unorthodox hygiene practices.

        https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D514243507/

        (no we are not ordering minis. We use Hero Forge more as a visualizer. We did this for each of our characters)

  386. When I look at my Steam que, it will give me content warnings about games like Walking Dead as well as the option of skipping those games. However, it will just straight up show me triple X rated games without any hesitation. I’m not sure if that says more about me or Steam.

  394. Well my Westen adventure is nearly at an end.
    Many wonderous sights have been seen.
    Hikes have been experienced.
    Spent time with my daughter and her friend in Boulder and played a fun round of disc golf.
    And now, all that remains is dealing with the Denver airport.
    Two days before American Thanksgiving.

  397. Between the cat’s surgery and now my kitchen, I’ve spent way too much money in the last two weeks. There better not be anything else between now and Christmas.

    • I am cautiously almost optimistic about this. He’s done a lot of good for Star Wars and is probably the best person for the job. However, much like Lucas, he’s not the strongest when it comes to things like dialogue and direction.

      If he can be the one to provide some overall story/universe direction and bring in strong writers and directors to flesh it out, it would be a win for everyone.

  399. The wife and I have started The Last Kingdom. The first 3 episodes are excellent. Jam-packed with story.

    The Vikings show from the History Channel never really held my interest, but I’m digging this one. I did read a few of the books from Bernard Cornell years ago, so that might help.

    • By all accounts it’s going to be a flop and take far less than The Marvels, but old Ridley is only getting roasted by reviewers and historians.

      Now the Director of The Marvels is getting hit pieces by Variety and hate posts on Twitter.

  401. You know how I said nothing else is allowed to happen?
    Took my computer in this afternoon. Luckily it’s just a hard drive issue and the whole computer won’t need to be replaced. Still a couple of days without my computer hurts

  403. All trophies for the game Lake have been collected.

    I achieved my fav ending with Meredith leaving with the video store owner. Had to wait months to do the other two endings as an update screwed up loading games.

    Night treat self to the DLC for Xmas.

    • I see a lot of potential reasons this time around.

      1. They got lambasted by backers for all kinds of delays and extra fees for physical rewards so they aren’t doing much in the way of physical rewards this year. That led to me having the opportunity to spend much less. I gave hundreds less this time around because there wasn’t anything worth while to spend on.
      2. They gave everyone the impression that the Gizmoplex and the ability to charge for membership was going to be the basis of funding for future seasons and then hit us with a totally out of the blue, surprise fundraiser.
      3. They hit us with a totally out of the blue, surprise fundraiser. They had a base of fans at their disposal and did absolutely nothing to mobilize those fans to prep people and give us a ramp up time.
      4. Their timing was as bad as it could get. They couldn’t leverage any of their people to advertise because of the strikes. They also placed it right before the holidays when people are trying to gear up financially.
      5. I don’t even think Turkey Day will help them this year. I put it on for 10 minutes. There was 2 minutes of a timer, then another 2 minutes of a different timer, then a few adds, then maybe 2-3 minutes of contents in the middle of a movie (hence my confusion over so many timers. Not like they were trying to start a movie at a certain time or anything), then a glitch, then another timer.

      I love these people to death. But they are really making some bad decisions this time around. At least it looks like they are building some lessons learned this time around.

  405. Crap joke for the day:

    A man goes for a walk in the park.
    On his walk, he sees two men sitting on a park bench and looking very down.

    “What’s wrong?” He asked them.
    One of the men looks up at the man and lets out a long sigh: “Take a seat and I’ll tell you.”
    Curious, he sits down next to the two men.
    “The paint’s wet,” the man says.

  411. Deadpan Secret Santas 2023 – Signups Are Open!

    Hello, Deadpan. I have been busy working, traveling to visit my parents, and working on my NaNoWriMo Novel, among the usual things, and that’s why I’m only just now getting this announcement out. Sorry for the delay.

    It’s time to share fellowship and holiday cheer! Sign up for Deadpan Secret Santas either by replying to this post or by shooting me an email (amybowenwrites at gmail). I will send out assignments next Wednesday, Nov. 29.

  414. Have my computer back and now the re-installation of programs begins. The real question is, do I install Chrome or stick with the Windows default browser—whatever it’s called? (Keeping in mind, I can still use Google either way)

  416. I found the Bill W documentary on Kanopy last night. Had quite the emotional moment at about the halfway mark when my grandmother appeared and talked about her experience with AA. I kinda figured she’d be in this in some way, but I wasn’t expecting that. We lost her 11 years ago. Bittersweet!

  418. For those giving Ridley Scott a pass on historical accuracy with Napoleon I wil state this:

    There are still idiots on Quora who think U571 is literally true and the USA captured an Enugma machine first.

  419. JW: The Star Beast

    Welcome back Doctor Who with an episode with characters from a 70s comic Doctor Who comic strip.

    I still find Donna bloody annoying but the rest of the episode was good.

  420. I didn’t go, but the wife, older daughter, and niece were all pretty disappointed with the new Hunger Games prequel. I still wonder who was clamoring for President Snow’s backstory….

    I showed the younger daughter Captain Marvel, which was a hit. And it definitely holds up for a second viewing.

    • FWIW-
      My eldest, 20 something daughter went to see it with a group of pals.
      She reports that it was good but that she went in not having high expectations.
      “Not as good as the original series but had cool characters and good songs”

      I will probably wait for it to come on cable. Wait, do we say that anymore?
      I will wait for it to hit a streaming platform.

  422. The Doctor Who Special 1 was all the cheese and heart and fun of a good Tennant-era episode from 15 years ago. I was along for the ride on all the plot twists.

  423. The Doctor Who Special 1 was all the cheese and heart and fun of a good Tennant-era episode from 15 years ago. I was along for the ride on all the plot twists.

  424. Saw both Barbie and The Last Voyage of the Demeter on the weekend.
    Barbie was cute enough but I think it missed the mark for me.
    I enjoyed Demeter but the husband got more out of it than me. I was a little disappointed it didn’t stick closer to the captains logs of the original Dracula

        • That sounds cool! The book definitely has the sluggishness of its age, but it’s still damn well-written. I don’t often do rereads, but I’m glad to have undertaken this one.

          • I reread if fairly recently myself. However, just to make sure, I reread the chapter with the Demeter logs after we watched the movie to make sure my memory was correct.
            They roughly followed in the movie but the key word is, roughly. In the movie there was a kid (the grandson of the captain) and a woman stowaway that had no mention in the book’s logs.
            There were a couple of other things but – spoilers.
            Don’t get me wrong, the movie was decent, just don’t go into it expecting a completely faithful adaptation.

  428. Just an FYI, I know we haven’t got our Secret Santa assignments yet but I’m pretty sure my gift will be late, depending upon who I get. I have a general idea what I’ll be given (adjusted to the receiver), and it won’t be an overnight delivery.

    • I can’t claim that this impacts me in any real way, but it’s a damn shame that Popular Science isn’t going to be out there in the world anymore, in magazine form.

    • Wow.
      Popular Science was a big part of my teens.
      Was really great at taking big concept, current science and making it easily understandable.

      They also had a section near the back called “The Amature Scientist” which had neat science projects for kids. It is where I got the instructions for the seismograph I built. A project that earned me trips from Houston to Boston to London and a summer job at the Volcano observatory in Hawaii.

      Sad to hear there is no place in this world for that information source anymore.

  432. Your useless info for today.

    If you drop an anvil of iron into a big tub of liquid mercury, the anvil will float as it’s less dense than liquid mercury.

    • Bludgeoned to death with our own bright, shinny future.

      “The point is that AI will not usher in a new phase of existence. Instead it will make a small number of pseudo-monarchs very rich, and the rest of us will become their playthings, struggling to survive in a post-Jackpot world where resources are diminishing. ”

  445. …And now for something completely different: The list of participants has been run through the Random.org list randomizer, and Deadpan Secret Santa recipient assignments have been sent out!

    (Wow, that is some weird timing.)

    • Haven’t seen that but I too have been surprised by her range in that department. Seems there have been a couple of times I have seen her in scenes where that has been the goal and I was caught off guard at how sexy she can be.

  450. Funny occurrence yesterday. Teresa and I are watching Beacon 23. On episode 2 a random guy shows up and Teresa asks “Is that the guy from Stranger Things?” and I replied “The paranoid professor dude? The actor looks similar, but it’s not him.” We move on to episode 4, random guy shows up, it’s the dude from Stranger Things.

  451. For the record, I don’t celebrate the death of any human being. I celebrate the end of the suffering they cause.
    Henry Kissinger was a piece of shit whose actions directly/indirectly led to a LOT of death and strife (if you need confirmation, look at the list of people paying him tribute), but he hasn’t actively caused any harm in a long time. Are people suffering from the after-effects of his actions? Yes. I am happy for the small sense of relief they may be feeling today.
    I also recognize that he had in a hand in ending the Vietnam War. . . and that he has family members who are 100% innocent of his atrocities who are mourning today. So I’ll laugh at the memes and I’ll say “good riddance” to him, but I won’t celebrate.

    That’s me, though. I’m not mad at Van’s “party time” post.

    • I watched PBS multi part series on the Viet Nam war and I remember one of the frightening facts they revealed was that the Nixon administration made the intentional decision to sabatouge peace talks to keep tha war from ending before he could be re-elected because “war-time” Presidents always got re-elected.
      I can’t remember now if Kissinger was a part of that plan.

      • The way I’d heard it was that Johnson was about to end the war right before the election, which would have probably gotten him reelected, so Nixon’s camp sabotaged the deal. Kissinger’s name is usually mentioned in connection to this.

        But you’re citing PBS and I’m citing something I remember reading somewhere.

  453. I the last few days I have been playing with a free, online, picture generating AI.
    It’s been kind of fun, adding/ subtracting/re-arranging words to try and coax the AI to give me the picture I wanted.
    I’d restate a word and hit “draw” and then check back in a few minutes to see how it had misunderstood me this time.

    Anyway, if AI IS the future I have this to report:
    In the future it seems we will all have random, extra arms and legs. In addition we will often find ourselves surrounded by disembodied arms and legs.
    I doubt we will be able to use these to our advantage however, as it seems our eyes will always be pointing in impossibly different directions from one another.

    • It is kinda fun to mess around with that stuff, though – – no doubt. And with patience, you can actually make some realistic stuff.
      But AI technologies are in their infancy; they will eventually be flawless, from image creators to text generators.

  454. In less frivolous news, I went to a presentation tonight given by the NIH’s Director of National Human Genome Research.
    Amazing stuff. He was saying that when they first broached the idea of trying to sequencing the genome in 1980, they never really thought that they would see the advances that have already seen, within his lifetime.
    You may know, the first complete sequencing of the human genome cost a million dollars. Now they can do it for less than $1000 a pop.
    He said that genomic sequencing in neo-natel care is becoming routine. If the have a sick newborn they can’t diagnose, they do a genome sequence and within 24 hours can tell if it is a genetic disorder and begin treatment.

    Medical diagnoses and selective drug effectiveness seem to be the big game changers that could be standard in even just 5 years.
    Imagine not having to try 5 different drugs at several different dosages to see which one will work for you. They could check your genome and know what your specific body responds to.
    The field of Genomic Medicine is certainly going to be a huge part of our kid’s futures.

  456. We finished season 1 of The Last Kingdom (see above). It’s been a long time since I read the books, so I can’t comment on the show’s faithfulness to the source – – but I will say that I enjoyed the hell out of it. Recommended.

  461. I just happened to be stranded in the touristy area of Orlando next to
    a theater with multiple hours to kill. Found that there is a new
    Godzilla Minus One
    (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23289160/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_7_nm_1_q_godzill)
    movie out there. It is subtitled. As it was a Japanese Godzilla
    movie, it was burdened down with politics. But less so than Shin
    Godzilla. And the action sequences in this one were phenomenal. I
    really liked this one. It takes place right at the end of World War
    II. They do a fantastic job of having a lot of Godzilla action before
    we get to the classic destruction of a city and pulled out the classic
    Godzilla theme music as just the right time and just the right way. I
    was completely blown away.

  466. So went to a gig last night, iced over cobblestones are no friend of the infirm and elderly. A retired friend slipped on the ice and was thankfully helped up by a young student.

  467. If you like a ghost story on the runup to Xmas then The Sheperd is rather good and available on Disney+ now.

    Oh and the two planes are the de Havilland Mosquito and Vampire.

    So now you know.

  468. Took the 3 Mangan ladies to see The Marvels today. It was good fun! Kinda the classic Marvel template: fun banter between the heroes, 2D villain.

    • Am I the only o e who reads these things and thinks … “so, your saying you are done growing? This is as big as your going to get and pretty much the most you will ever be?”

    • “Employees will get about five months of severance pay, holiday pay, and healthcare coverage for the severance period.”

      That’s a much better deal than I’ve seen from other companies.

      But I agree that saying they’ve made a profit for the first quarter in the last year and are celebrating by cutting jobs just doesn’t make sense.

  473. Meanwhile …
    Headed to a Christmas dinner party tonight.
    Thrown by a company we do business with.
    They are springing for an Uber.

    Perhaps this will fill me with the Holiday Jollyness.
    If it does, I probably should not post for the rest of the night. 😀

  474. Just made a list of my planned/hoped-for trips and special events for 2024. The only one missing is Deadpan Meetup. Is it too early to start that conversation (or did it already happen?)

    My main request is, can we please not do Labor Day weekend again? I really want to get back to Dragon Con (I pre-registered). Will post full list when the conversation actually starts.

  478. Apparently The Dial of Destiny becomes available on D+ today.

    I enjoyed this one in the theater, but only a few details have remained in my brain. I’ll have to rewatch one of these days, before I can really decide it if it’s just good, or worthy of the Indiana Jones name.

    • Another for the “I thought he died years ago” category.

      101! And man, what a legacy. People will misinterpret Archie Bunker for the rest of eternity.

      RIP

  489. What I learnt today:

    Over the range Microwave ovens have a charcoal filter that needs. to be changed.

    Now since I’ve never owned an over the range microwave oven I feel just learning that fact today is understandable.

  492. Haven’t heard if my DPSS got their present. I know it was delievered, but I also realized I forgot to include a gift message. :facepalm:

  494. JW: Down and Out in Beverly Hills

    This film still makes me laugh and found out today that the Hollywood ending is actually faithful to the play it’s based in.

  496. Seeing all the DPSS messages here makes me happy. 🙂 Got a mystery package the other day that I’m pretty sure is my DPSS gift. It is waiting until Christmas to be opened.

    I finally got my butt in gear and put in an order for my own DPSS giftee’s present today. It’s not 100% guaranteed to be there by Christmas, but here’s to hoping.

    • Zero sympathy for abusers.

      However. Assuming all of that is true, he has serious mental health issues and needs treatment.

      I assume Marvel will announce some changes in the near future.

  502. I just finished Cory Doctorow’s latest, “The Lost Cause.” I’ve really loved a few of his books, but I found this one pretty frustrating.

  506. Despite the snow, everybody is in town and still available. Hubby is currently downstairs setting up for tomorrow’s game. Apparently it starts:
    A gnome, a dwarf, a tiefling, and an elf walk into a bar…

      • There is no doubt that the US military/
        Industrial/entertainment complex has benefited massively from this situation … but also, the Ukraine is amazingly lucky that this was there to play in their favor.

      • Some if you may remember a game called The Sentinel, it was released on 8 and 16 bits computer back in the 80s. It had a unique absorb/create energy gameplay that you used to move around the 3D landscape. There was a sequel for the PS2 that was not well reviewed.

        Anyway, some one has programmed a version of the game for modern computers running Linux/Mac/Windows and called it Pinnacle:

        https://viperfish.com.au/games/pinnacle.html

  508. So last week I was wined and dined.
    Tonight I am volunteering as a waiter for a fund raiser dinner for a local museum.
    Hopefully, balance is being maintained in my karma.

  511. When you discover that a highly praised film that is coming out next year is based on a Japanese novel that was adapted into a Japanese horrror film that you saw back in the late 80s and rather enjoyed…that!

    The film was called The Discarnates.

  513. I know we’re three years behind everyone else, but we completed Picard S1 last night. I know some said that only Season 3 was any good, but I liked this one.
    I’m told S2 is a huge mess, but I still plan to dive in.

  518. So today I will be mostly playing Scramble, the one released by Stern.

    Still don’t get far into the caverns and that spaceship is a gas guzzler.

  521. I went down a rabbit hole from finding out that the Rush song Cinderella Man was based on the 1936 movie “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town” to watching that movie and wondering at his use of the word “doodling” as though we weren’t supposed to know what it meant, to fining out that the modern usage of that word pretty much came about from that movie. Note, the word itself has been around for hundreds of years, just not used as we would use it in our modern speech. https://news.columbia.edu/news/art-renaissance-scribbles#:~:text=The%20word%20%E2%80%9Cdoodle%E2%80%9D%20was%20first,while%20they're%20thinking.%E2%80%9D

      • It also has a 1936 usage of the word “pixilated”. Of course, it isn’t used anything at all like we would use that word today.

        I was a good movie and I’m glad I watched it. Doubt I’ll ever go back for a second run at it though.

  532. We’re in the middle of Lupin on Netflix. Yesterday I’m playing Persona 5 and up pops something about Lupin.
    Life is full of little coincidences

  544. It’s been a busy time, but I did manage a few movies in the past week, unintentionally sticking to the same late 70s time period.

    Rocky is still a pretty excellent movie. Not perfect, but still pretty good, even as iconic and over-parodied as some of the famous scenes are. Yo, Adrian!!! I hadn’t watched since the 90s.

    Rocky II is not bad, but it’s a huge step down from the original. Only the beginning for the cartoonishness of this series. I’d never seen it. I don’t think I’ve seen III either, but… I’m good. I’m stepping off the train here, although I may watch the first Creed movie, eventually. (I have seen Rocky IV.)

    Jaws. Again, parodied to death, but this is a truly great movie. Spielberg is a genius filmmaker. The two early deaths are horrifying/terrifying, but otherwise, it really isn’t a horror movie. (Though I still jumped when the corpse pops out of the sunken ship). Absolutely gripping. I rented this VHS from Blockbuster eons ago, hadn’t seen it since.
    I will not be watching any Jaws sequels or knockoff, thanks.

    • We’ve collected a few games this month as well.

      Zendo: arrange colored shapes and find the hidden rule.
      Catan
      Escape the Dark Castle
      and
      The Quacks of Quedlinburg

      We’ve only played Zendo so far.

    • I’d quibble with the “To be a competent artist requires a thoughtful approach to evoke an emotional response to those who view their work. ” comment a bit. Sometimes great and/or impactful art has come from people who were not thinking clearly at all.

      And some accounts indicate he was not all that competent at governing, just charismatic and determined. It was his cronies around him who were efficient, no matter how ghastly the agenda.

      • Also… “competent”?
        That’s a pretty subjective descriptor.
        Considering that the scuttlebut is that he wasn’t accepted into art school, maybe he wasn’t all that competent.

        • Art school has often been a bastion of tradition. Just because he was not accepted does not mean he wasn’t competent.

          Being an artist does not mean you are a good person.

          • “Being an artist does not mean you are a good person.” Yeah, that’s the disappointing realization for me. It blows my mind that someone who is thoughtful enough to create art can be so undeniably evil. As for the competent part, I’d have happily displayed any of these paintings in my home if they weren’t literally painted by Hitler.

          • Isn’t being an “artist does not mean you are a good person” an age old concept that leads to the concept of “love the art, not the artist”? I mean, Hitler aside, there are plenty of artists from various fields that are absolutely atrocious people. The concept isn’t exactly new. And as for artists being able to evoke an emotional response from people, I would say that Hitler was always good at that. Just not the emotions we would have wanted him to be stirring up.

      • “Sometimes great and/or impactful art has come from people who were not thinking clearly at all.” True, but my point of puzzlement is how someone can think thoughtfully about relationships and how to convey that, and still not consider the humanity of everyone. Obviously, it happens and is not all that uncommon. Thus my disappointment.

  557. Today is the husband’s birthday. I’ve been texting him birthday gigs all day. Just now he texted me a sigh. Totally worth it

  558. We drove to check out some locally famous Xmas lights house, and decided to drive by Rhett’s, since he was on the way.
    And Rhett, that is a seriously impressive Rudolph on your roof!

    • I got these as part of the audio book version of “My Effin Life”. Agreed they are good. I’m going through a re-listen to all of the Rush albums and all of their solo albums. Only up to Fly By Night (album 2) so far as Christmas music is overwhelming my existence for the moment. I remember being whelmed by Geddy’s solo album. Think I might have listened to Alex’s in the past and been similarly whelmed. Only one way to know for sure.

      • I enjoyed the Victor album and the Geddy album, but I haven’t given either a relisten in a very long time.

        I really really like Alex’s post-Rush band, Envy of None.

  561. Seems everybody is getting into the yearly review game. Steam is showing that 70% of my playing time with Steam games was Spelunky and I booted up the game 161 times.

    Ok then.

  564. I’m about to go stage a raid on my local FedEx distribution facility to free a Christmas package they have held hostage since it arrived there Monday afternoon.

    I’d be okay with them delivering it at their leasure (if it got here before Christmas) but it has to be signed for on delivery so I have been scheduling my life around being at home to suddenly sign for this thing.

  567. In today’s mail I got a stone plaque that says “Yes! I really do need all of these board games!”
    Like the game I got earlier, there was no receipt saying who it came from. I assume one of them came from my secret Santa so, thank you!
    The question is, where did the other come from?

  568. Things don’t get more bureaucratic than having to obtain a FP92A form to apply for an exemption.

    I feel like I’ve fallen into the world of Brazil

  571. Speaking of Brazil (see above),
    I am still trying to get this package from Fed Ex.
    Yesterday was spent using “human engineering” to find out which of the many facilities it was in and then getting phone numbers of actual humans inside that building.
    I just now spoke to a manager type who was a little taken aback at how much I knew about the packages where abouts and that it had just been sitting there.
    On the other hand, she then seemed really interested in helping me/getting it out of her area of responsibility.

    She did warn me that the FedEx employees load the delivery van but the drivers are contract labor and are paid by when the clock in and out… not by whether they deliver any packages. So given it is a heavy item, they might “slow role past your driveway and mark it as ‘No one home’ “.
    *sigh*

    • This FINALLY explains why that happens to me every once in a while. My office has a window that looks at the front door. There is no way a package can be attempted to be delivered without my seeing someone walk up to the door. But once in a while I get the “no one was home” and I know I was home. It must be a crappy driver being crappy.

      My favorite crappy driver story was one that put a large and heavy treadmill leaned up against my outward opening front door. To avoid knocking it over, we had to go out the back door, through the fence gate, and around to the front of the house.

  574. It may not be your thing but if you have a surround setup for your tv then watch Maestro on Netflix and during the conductor scenes crank that volume.

  578. Part of the laziness was watching Leo. Which was kinda funny, but not much more. Someone needs to tell Adam Sandler that his voices aren’t funny. And that he has been barely funny at best for about 35 years.

    • I never liked Adam Sandler. He was funning in a total of one movie. Don’t Mess With the Zohan and I’m convinced it’s because Robert Smigel was one of the writers.

      • As I’ve mentioned before the only Sandler film I truly like is Punch Drunk Love.

        Although his new one where he plays an Astronaut looks interesting.

          • There are certain actors that only work for me when they aren’t doing their schtick. Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, in later years Jim Carey (his schtick was good but got old and really shone when he moved past it).

          • I agree.
            I very disliked Will Ferrell until “Stranger than Fiction” where he did NOT do his Schlick.
            Not sure why “Elf” works for me .

  583. Bunny – Came here because I saw your Instagram post. I was the one who sent you the little stone plaque for DPSS. I don’t know who sent the Abducktion game.

    Merry Christmas, one and all! So happy all the DPSS gifts are arriving. Waves 1 and 2 of my cards/letters/care packages have been put in the mail. Wave 3 is in a bag by the door, ready to go out. I hope they arrive by New Year’s.

  588. We always watch one Hallmark Christmas movie each year. This year it was A Biltmore Christmas (had Johnathan Frakes) which had a time travel element. Last year it was Ghost of Christmas Always which had the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. I think I’ve noticed a pattern in the ones we watch.

    • If… and that’s a big if… I ever watch a Hallmark Christmas movie, it will be My Southern Family Christmas because Bruce Campbell can make anything work.

  591. Someone on Twitter got round to watching the series finale of Blake’s 7 with the response:

    Oh my God???

    Very appropriate if you ask me.

  593. And to all a good night!

    We watched “Spirited” on Apple TV+ tonight. Just might be a new Christmas tradition. An excellent new take on the old Scrooge classic.

    • I did like Spirited. We did “The Night Before” last night. I had not seen that one yet and wanted something new. It was good and will likely make the rotation. Our challenge in the last few years has been that the rotation is now so large that even watching a movie and several specials a night from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas we still have many that we have not made it through.

  606. So I received another installment of the comic stylings of the IRS.

    Today I got a letter saying they had FINALLY received one of our many letters that showed we had in fact paid them back in 2021.
    They said we should hear from them about it in the next 3 months. It also said that they could not make a ruling on it until the had received more information on it from (blank) and that they must have this by (blank).

    No. Seriously.
    It was apparently a form letter and they had left those parts blank.
    So some un-named person must give them some undefined input by some un-named date.
    Hilarious.
    Well, except that every time we have the accountant send them the proof that THEY paid them … we get charged for their time.
    Hilarious.

      • Sadly, it is a clear result of maga attacks to “defund” them and to chase off career, knowledgeable agents by demonizing them.
        It seems they have been reduced to a handful of interns and a shared TRS-80 computer.

        How has THIS made America great?

  608. So went to the cinema to see The Boy and the Heron, not Miyazaki’s best film in my opinion but still a fine animated film.

    Was the subtitled version and not the English dub.

  617. Gave Dolly Parton’s new “rock and roll” album a listen while working on a jigsaw puzzle.

    Some songs worked.
    Others, not so much.
    It’s Dolly though. I’d be surprised if any artist turned her down when she called and ask them to do a song with her.
    So MANY songs as well !
    I feel like she figured she had one shot at this so she was going to sing ALL here favorites.

    I’d think most anyone could find at least one cover on here they liked.

  619. Polar Express tonight. Goddamn, the Uncanny Valley there is creepy AF.

    The little one saw it in a theater as an early December class outing, and she loved it. I gotta say that parts of it are pretty thrilling.

    Buhhhhht, yeah, it’s time for an updated version, with better animation. *shudders*

    • I’m curious, If you were making the call which side of the uncanny valley would you move to? Would you still go 3D animation with it or would you go a different style?

      How about live actors in an almost completely CGI world that contained the same look and style of the original artwork?
      I might go that route.

  623. Bruce Greenwood’s performance in The Fall of the House of Usher is even more impressive when you find out that Frank Langella was fired three weeks before the series was due to wrap.

  627. I finally watched Ahsoka. Definitely not for me. Things just seemed to get sillier and sillier after episode 4. By the end I felt like the character in Monty Python that steps in and just starts shooing people off the set saying “too silly, move on”.

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